Jan. 27, 2007
Box Score
HONOLULU - No. 13 Loyola University Chicago needed many impressive all-around performances to defeat No. 3 Hawai`i 30-23, 30-32, 28-30, 31-29, 15-7 in the first match of the Outrigger Hotels Invitational in front of 3,584 fans at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Loyola (4-1, 1-1 MIVA) got a balanced attack with four hitters posting double-digit kills led by a match-high 23 from the reigning MIVA Player of the Week, Ian Anderson. The junior from Wauwatosa, Wis. set three new career-highs with 58 attempts, eight digs and six blocks.
Senior middle blocker James Grunst got a season-high16 kills on 24 attempts for a match-high .625 hitting percentage to go with six blocks.
Freshman Krisjanis Berzins and sophomore Nick Lamoureux contributed 11 kills along with a match-high three ace serves. Senior setter Brian Guntli handed out a season-high 65 assists to help the Ramblers hit .291 for the match.
The Rambler attack came out strong and out-hit the Warriors .400 to .212 in their 30-23 opening-game victory. But the Loyola attack sputtered through the next two games with a .176 hitting percentage in game two followed by a .143 mark in the third.
Trailing 25-21 in game four, the Ramblers seized momentum of the match with five unanswered points to take a 26-25 lead before a Lamoureux kill and a Lauri Hakala hitting error gave LU the fourth-game victory, 31-29.
Loyola carried the momentum into the fifth game and jumped out to a 3-0 lead early then went on a 7-2 run to close out the match. The Ramblers hit .529 in the fifth game while the Warriors were held to .000.
Defensively, the Ramblers outblocked Hawai'i 14 to 8.5, led by a match-high eight by Lamoureux. In the back row, senior libero Zach Bailey had a career-high 16 digs while Berzins chipped in 14.
The Warriors were led by Jim Clar's career-high 22 kills while Brian Beckwith dished out 57 assists.
Loyola finishes the 13th annual Outrigger Hotels Invitational against No. 2 BYU at 8 p.m. CT on Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.
